Pay the Ghost

Name: Pay the Ghost
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: September 25, 2015
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 23

2015

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Generally unfavorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Ratings

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4.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Ratings

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Pay The Ghost

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Movie Details & Credits

RLJ Entertainment | Release Date: September 25, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: One year after his young son disappeared during a Halloween carnival, Mike Lawford (Nicolas Cage) is haunted by eerie images and terrifying messages he can’t explain. Together with his estranged wife (Sarah Wayne Callies), he will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery and find their son—and, in doing so, he unearths a legend that refusesOne year after his young son disappeared during a Halloween carnival, Mike Lawford (Nicolas Cage) is haunted by eerie images and terrifying messages he can’t explain. Together with his estranged wife (Sarah Wayne Callies), he will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery and find their son—and, in doing so, he unearths a legend that refuses to remain buried in the past.… Expand

Director: Uli Edel

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

Jesse Hassenger

Sep 22, 2015

The movie’s B-movie flimsiness is pervasive, and paired with an overall lack of B-movie flair, though director Uli Edel makes some game yarn-spinning attempts. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Sep 24, 2015

In Pay the Ghost, Nicolas Cage investigates a supernatural abduction, but has no solution for the maggot-eaten zombie that is his undead career. Read full review

Chris Packham

Sep 21, 2015

The script doesn't know the difference between being something scary and pointing at something scary. It's less a film than a series of imitative gestures, a bunch of horror signifiers pointing to nothing. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Sep 24, 2015

Dan Kay’s filament-thin story, accessorized with flapping vultures and disturbing graffiti, relies entirely on Mr. Cage’s desperate-dad energy. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Sep 25, 2015

Whatever you have to pay, it's too much. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Sep 25, 2015

Pay the Ghost, out in very limited release today, is a new low for Nicolas Cage. Just when you thought he couldn’t get any more apathetic about a role, he pops up in this lazy, boring retread of “Insidious” that even his most diehard fans should ignore. Read full review

Andrew Barker

Sep 26, 2015

This somnolent supernatural thriller is a low-energy wash from start to finish. Read full review

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User Reviews

Meth-dude

Nov 28, 2015

Pay the Ghost is badly written, directed and acted.The movie is boring most of the time and the CGI effects are pretty bad.Cliché, unoriginal, boring and bad acted are probably the best adjectives to describe this movie.But, the last 15 minutes were pretty entertaining even though they werePay the Ghost is badly written, directed and acted.The movie is boring most of the time and the CGI effects are pretty bad.Cliché, unoriginal, boring and bad acted are probably the best adjectives to describe this movie.But, the last 15 minutes were pretty entertaining even though they were the most stupid and the CGI was even worst than it was for the rest of the movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TheQuietGamer

May 20, 2016

Another one of those average horror films lacking in imagination and fright, yet is somehow mindlessly watchable despite how boring everything is. It's attempts at scare are little more than jump scares punctuated by loud, painful screeches. No seriously, they actually do cause physicalAnother one of those average horror films lacking in imagination and fright, yet is somehow mindlessly watchable despite how boring everything is. It's attempts at scare are little more than jump scares punctuated by loud, painful screeches. No seriously, they actually do cause physical pain.

Weirdly enough these moments occur when nothing scary is happening onscreen. It's not like anything scary happens in the first place, but it's just so odd how the sound is handled. "Oh hey look something weird is going on. Better make sure the audience is aware. They've probably drifted off by now so let's get their attention with a loud burst of screechy music." We get one seen where Nicolas Cage is chasing a bus and director decided to have some really eerie music playing while this is happening. Why? I get that he's seeing a vision of his missing son, but there's actually scary or even remotely creepy about it.

That's not where the weirdness of the movie ends. There are plenty of awkward choices made throughout. For example the middle portion of the movie suffers from some sort of identity crisis. It goes for the haunted house angle, moves onto some paranormal investigation, and even has a brief stint with possession all before settling on one of those ghost revenge stories where the angry specter punishes people who actually had nothing to do with what made them mad in the first place. At which point it starts to rip-off Insidious.

As always with Nicolas Cage films one of the biggest talking points about it is the star himself. His performance here really shows off how basic his acting skills are. When he's not losing his mind onscreen Nicolas Cage is merely suitable in his roles. He gets the job done, but don't expect anything amazing. Pay the Ghost is no different. As a matter of fact his laidback, casually indifferent performance is so at odds with the material at times it's hard not to laugh. This is supposed to be a man desperately looking for his missing son, but Cage is just so darn calm. Sarah Wayne Callies on the other hand is quite good.

To be honest the movie itself is a lot like Cage's performance. It's basic, gets the job done, but is far from anything to get excited over. There's a lot of weirdness to the movie. Unfortunately not even that can elevate Pay the Ghost to anything more than mediocre. If you really need to watch a horror film and have somehow exhausted the plethora of better options out there, then by all means give Pay the Ghost a watch. It won't really entertain or scare you, but at least it won't completely bore you and isn't as mind-numbingly awful as some of the options out there. Still though, you might just be better off popping in a comedy or something. I doubt even hardcore Nicolas Cage fans can get much out of this. Especially since his performance is missing the sanity of other roles that gained him these fans in the first place.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

LeZee

Jul 24, 2016

You know the story, but with the different actors and settings!

Once a pride actor, now he's doing lots of low cost quick films. The II and III tier directors and producers trying to get the best use of their golden opportunities. So the Nicolas Cage into this after the legal struggle inYou know the story, but with the different actors and settings!

Once a pride actor, now he's doing lots of low cost quick films. The II and III tier directors and producers trying to get the best use of their golden opportunities. So the Nicolas Cage into this after the legal struggle in real life, but people have different opinion without knowing the truth. He definitely would come back to his old form, but it's not known when. All these his recent B films just somewhat shines because of having him onboard. So this flick as well too ordinary and stupid, though watchable because of the Cage.

The story was maybe a hundredth adaptation. Anybody with the knowledge of the decent horror films can predict the entire narration. But the different cast, setting, et cetera makes it worth a watch. Definitely not scary or the suspenseful, yet everybody tried their best to make the product better. Only the first half, mostly the first quarter was the better part of the film. So if you pick it on the basis of the story, you will be disappointed badly. This film is not worth unless you're a Cage's fan who backs him every time or love to take chances on the B films. Overall film was okay, but I think the end should have been better. I might have said a few good things about it, but I can't recommend it.

4/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

csw12

Feb 21, 2016

Nicolas Cage is a disgrace. The movie's first half is watchable but by the end, it completely fell off the cliff into stupidity. Pay the Ghost is like any lazy SyFy movie you would see on T.V.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

icotzabb

Feb 18, 2023

I think this movie needed more scenes where people climb the stairs. Exquisite stair work though.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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